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The Aérospatiale Alouette II (, "
lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...
"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later
Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...
. It was the first production helicopter powered by a
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
engine instead of the heavier conventional piston powerplant. On 12 March 1955, the prototype SE 3130 performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
. The Alouette II was a widely used type and popular with operators, with over 1,300 rotorcraft eventually being constructed between 1956 and 1975. The type was predominantly used for military purposes in observation, photography,
air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...
, liaison and training, but it has also carried anti-tank missiles and homing torpedoes. As a civilian helicopter, the Alouette II has been used for casualty evacuation (with two external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying and as a flying crane, with a external underslung load. A high-altitude derivative, the SA 315B Lama, was developed and entered operational service in July 1971. The Alouette II also was further developed into the larger and more powerful Alouette III. In 1975, production of the type was terminated, having been effectively succeeded by these newer rotorcraft. Despite it being long out of production, considerable numbers of Alouette II were still in service at the start of the 21st century.


Development

Although Sud-Est's previous helicopter design, the SE 3120 Alouette, broke helicopter speed and distance records in July 1953, it was too complex an aircraft to market successfully. With the records falling, the French government started showing interest, but with their financial backing, the state gave an ultimatum that within two years a helicopter had to be in production, otherwise all rotary wing activities would cease. SNCASE came up with seven helicopter designs powered by
turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...
engines: X.310A – X.310G. Earlier Joseph Szydlowski, the founder of Turbomeca, had successfully managed to develop the Artouste, a single shaft turbine engine derived from his Orédon turbine. The X.310G design was chosen and, together with an improved version of the Artouste engine, was fast-tracked towards production as the ''SE 3130 Alouette II''. On 12 March 1955, the prototype SE 3130 performed its maiden flight;McGowen 2005, p. 74. within three months, on 6 June, a pre-production Alouette II, flown by Jean Boulet, established a new helicopter altitude record of .FAI Record ID #9876 – Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine
" ''
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...
(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
"History of Rotorcraft World Records, Sub-class:E-1 (Helicopters), General, Group 2:turbine"
. ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)''. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
''Flight'' 8 July 1955, p. 54. According to the manufacturer, such early demonstrations of the Alouette II had served to promote the performance and advantages of turbine helicopters over their piston-engined counterparts. In April 1956, the first production Alouette II was completed, making it the first production turbine-powered helicopter in the world.
''Eurocopter'', Retrieved: 20 December 2015.
Upon completion, several of the initial production models were dispatched for a series of evaluation flights in the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
. On 13 June 1958, a single SE 3130, again flown by Boulet, re-took the altitude record, reaching a height of 10,984 m (36,027 ft).FAI Record ID #9874 – Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine
" ''
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...
(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
Taylor 1966, p. 2. In 1964, a new version of the Alouette II was introduced, the ''SA 3180 Alouette II Astazou'' (originally called "Alouette Astazou"), using the Turbomeca Astazou IIA engine in place of the Artouste II. In 1975, production of the Alouette II ended after more than 1,300 had been built; in 1969, a new high-altitude variant, the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama had been developed to replace it in this niche capacity. A slightly larger and more powerful helicopter in the form of the Aérospatiale Alouette III has also entered production, which had negatively impacted upon the demand for the older II model.McGowen 2005, p. 227.


Design

The Aérospatiale Alouette II is a French light helicopter, incorporating many innovations of its time. It was powered by a single Turbomeca Artouste II
turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...
engine capable of generating a maximum output of 400 hp. The speed of the main rotor is controlled by an automated fuel supply
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, eliminating the necessity of a twist-grip throttle and a conventional link between the throttle and the collective-pitch. Instead, the Alouette II uses a simple control lever arrangement, which acts to directly regulate the collective-pitch and actuate the governor while immediately and automatically applying the correct level of power to conform with flight condition. Without a
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
, the transmission is considerably simplified in both design and maintenance aspects. Despite being a light helicopter, the Alouette II possesses a reasonable lift capacity and can carry underslung loads on an external sling; during one high-profile public demonstration, one helicopter was able to air-lift a compact Citroen truck weighing in excess of half a ton without visible difficulty. While flying at sea level, the Alouette II uses only 300 of the powerplant's available 400 hp; accordingly, performance can be maintained while operated at a high altitude and within tropical conditions where the additional power would come into play. It was capable of flying at altitudes of up to 2,286 meters above sea level while possessing an average climb rate of 250 meters per minute and a typical maximum range of 563 miles. Various alternative
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
configurations could be fitted, including skids, wheels, or pontoons. The Alouette II is capable of accommodating a seating arrangement for up to five personnel, including the pilot; access to the cabin was provided via a pair of side-hinged doors. The compact cockpit was provided with a dome-shaped windscreen which provided for excellent levels of external visibility. The Alouette II also made innovative use of armaments. It was the first helicopter worldwide to be equipped with anti-tank munitions in the form of the
SS.11 The SS.11 is a French manual command to line of sight Wire-guided missile, wire-guided Anti-tank guided missile, anti-tank missile manufactured by Nord Aviation. It is also available in the air-to-ground version, AS.11, which featured a stabil ...
MCLOS Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS or MACLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles. With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is ste ...
wire-guided
anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
.''Helicopters at War'' – Blitz Editions, p. 63, .Boyne 2011, p. 74. In addition to anti-tank missiles, the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
chose to arm their Alouette IIs with machine guns, while the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
outfitted theirs with aerial torpedoes to conduct
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
(ASW) duties. Under operational conditions, the Alouette II often proved to be a relatively maintenance-intensive rotorcraft.Cocks 2015, pp. 22–23. It required a high level of regular lubrication, the main rotorhead alone featuring 20 grease nipples that had to be re-lubricated after every five flight hours, while the drive shaft for the tail rotor was similarly demanding. Due to its high susceptibility to dust ingestion, some operators would have to remove the Alouette's rectangular sand filters after every landing in order to clean them.


Operational history

On 3 July 1956, prior to even entering civil service, the Alouette II was responsible for breaking new ground when it became the first helicopter to perform a mountain rescue mission, having been deployed to evacuate a mountaineer who had suffered from cardiac arrest at over . On 3 January 1957, the Alouette II was called upon again in order to rescue the crew of a crashed Sikorsky S-58, which had been searching for missing mountaineers Jean Vincendon and François Henry on
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...
. On 2 May 1957, following a series of airborne trials, the Alouette II was awarded a French domestic
certificate of airworthiness A standard certificate of airworthiness is a permit for commercial passenger or cargo operation, issued for an aircraft by the civil aviation authority in the state/nation in which the aircraft is registered. For other aircraft such as crop-spray ...
, which cleared the type to enter service with civil operators. Initial production was allocated to fulfil those orders placed by the French military, as well as by civilian customers. During 1957, the first deliveries of the Alouette II were made to the French Army.Cocks 2015, pp. 18–19. Shortly thereafter, large-scale orders for the type were received from several foreign nations, including the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, Federal Republic of Germany, and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.McGowen 2005, p. 75. Almost immediately upon entering service, French forces commenced active combat operations using their fledgling Alouette II fleet; the type being placed into heavy use in the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
, during which it made valuable contributions to France's activities in the theatre. When used as a troop-transport, up to four fully equipped soldiers could be airlifted at a time. Additionally, a number of Alouette IIs were modified to become what has been argued by some to have been the world's first helicopter
gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...
s; in this capacity, it would have been typically armed with Nord Aviation-built SS.10 or
SS.11 The SS.11 is a French manual command to line of sight Wire-guided missile, wire-guided Anti-tank guided missile, anti-tank missile manufactured by Nord Aviation. It is also available in the air-to-ground version, AS.11, which featured a stabil ...
anti-tank missiles. The nation of
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
emerged as a prolific user of both the Alouette II and its enlarged sibling, the Alouette III.Cocks 2015, p. 18. Early operations were flown with an emphasis on its use by the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and
British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...
, including
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
and aerial reconnaissance operations. Throughout the 1960s, the type progressively spread into additional roles, including aerial supply,
casualty evacuation Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualty (person), casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and ...
, communications relays, and troop-transports.Cocks 2015, p. 20. Rhodesian aerial operations would typically involve flying under relatively high and hot conditions, which reduced the efficiency of aircraft in general; however, the Alouette II proved to be both hardy and relatively resistant to battle damage.Cocks 2015, p. 19. In order to extend the inadequate range of the type, fuel caches were strategically deployed across the country to be used for refuelling purposes. In order to improve performance, Rhodesia's Alouette II fleet was subject to extensive modifications, including changes to their refuelling apparatus, gun sights, cabin fittings, armouring, and armaments.Cocks 2015, pp. 20–22. Over time, the Rhodesian Security Forces developed an innovative deployment tactic of rapidly encircling and enveloping enemies, known as the Fireforce, for which the Alouette II served as a core component. The quick-reaction Fireforce battalions were centred at
Centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
and Mount Darwin; emphasis was placed on locating both rotorcraft and troops as close to a current or anticipated theatre of operations as would be feasibly possible.Cocks 2015, pp. 21–22. By 1975, at which point production of the type was terminated, in excess of 1,300 Alouette IIs had been constructed. The rotorcraft was also in use in over 80 countries, including 47 separate armed forces.Boyne 2011, p. 101. The Alouette II was produced and sold under licence by Brazil, Sweden, India and in the United States. While succeeded in some respects by the SA 315B Lama, which was itself a derivative of the Alouette II; the French Army ultimately replaced their Alouette II fleet with a newly developed observation and reconnaissance helicopter in the form of the Aérospatiale AS350 Écureuil.McGowen 2005, p. 124. During July 2018, a single Alouette II was involved in the helicopter prison escape of the French gangster Rédoine Faïd. The rotorcraft, which had been hijacked by gang members who held the pilot hostage at gunpoint, flew into the courtyard of Réau prison, before flying to Roissy in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris; the event allegedly occurred in under ten minutes from take-off to escape.


Variants

* SE 3130 Alouette II – Initial version powered by Turbomeca Artouste II series engine rated at for takeoff, with maximum weight of . * SE 313B Alouette II – Version of SE 3130 powered by Turbomeca Artouste IIC5 or IIC6 engine rated at for takeoff, with maximum weight raised to . * SE 3131 Gouverneur – Refined executive version with enclosed tailboom, which was abandoned in favour of the Alouette III. * SE 3140 Alouette II – Proposed version, it was going to be powered by a 298 kW (400 hp)
Turbomeca Turmo The Turbomeca Turmo is a family of French turboshaft engines manufactured for helicopter use. Developed from the earlier Turbomeca Artouste, later versions delivered up to . A turboprop version was developed for use with the Bréguet 941 transp ...
II engine. None were built. * HKP 2 Alouette II – Swedish licence version of the SE 3130 * SA 3180 Alouette II Astazou – Version powered by Turbomeca Astazou IIA or IIA2 engine rated at for takeoff and continuous, but restricted to by rotor transmission limitations, with maximum weight of . * SA 318B Alouette II Astazou – Version of SA 3180 with maximum weight raised to . * SA 318C Alouette II Astazou – Version of SA 3180 with maximum weight raised to * SA 315B Lama – designed to meet an Indian armed forces requirement for operation in "hot and high" conditions; it combined the Artouste powerplant and rotor system of the Alouette III with a reinforced Alouette II airframe. * Republic Lark: Proposed production in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
by Republic Aircraft, powered by a AiResearch TSE-331-7 turboshaft.


Operators

; *
Tunisian Air Force The Tunisian Air Force (, ) is one of the branches of the Tunisian Armed Forces. History The Tunisian Air Force was established in 1959, three years after Tunisia regained its independence from France. It took deliveries of its first aircraft ...
; * General Directorate of Security


Former operators

; * Austrian Air Force ; * Biafran armed forces ; *
Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...
*
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
; * Military of Benin ; *
Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...
; * Royal Cambodian Air Force ; * Cameroon Air Force ; * Central African Republic Air Force ; * Congolese Air Force ; * Djibouti Air Force ;: * Dominican Air Force ; *
French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
*
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
*
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
* Gendarmerie Nationale * Securite Civile ; *
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
* German Federal Border Guard / German Federal Police * German Air Force ; * Guinea-Bissau Air Force ; * Indonesian Army *
Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy (, TNI-AL) is the Navy, naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol Indonesia's lengthy coastline, to enforce and patrol the territorial waters and Exclus ...
; * Israeli Air Force ; * Ivory Coast Air Force ; * Katangese Air Force ; * Khmer Air Force ; * Royal Lao Air Force ; * Lebanese Air Force ;: * Malagasy Air Force ; *
Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...
; * Netherlands Air Force ;: * Peruvian Army ;: *
Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...
* National Republican Guard ;: *
Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was th ...
; * Romanian Air Force ; * Senegalese Air Force ; *
South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...
; * Spanish National Police ; * Swedish Air Force *
Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...
; * Swiss Air Force ; * Gendarmerie General Command *
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...
; * Army Air Corps ; * Air Force of Zimbabwe


Specifications (SE 313B Alouette II)


See also


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aerospatiale Alouette Ii 1950s French civil utility aircraft 1950s French military utility aircraft Aérospatiale aircraft 1950s French helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1955 Helicopter history Single-turbine helicopters